Gov. Mike Braun isn't afraid to break rank
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The Hoosier National Forest has an influential new ally: Gov. Mike Braun.
The big picture: Braun is aligning himself with the environmental groups that are opposing U.S. Forest Service plans for controlled burns and logging in southern Indiana.
- It's not every day that Trump-era conservative Republicans like Braun find themselves on the same sides of issues as conservation groups like the Indiana Forest Alliance, but Braun campaigned as the outsider who isn't afraid to break stride.
Driving the news: Braun sent a letter last month asking the Forest Service to withdraw what's known as the Buffalo Springs project, which calls for up to 15,000 acres of prescribed burns and clearcutting 700 acres in Orange and Crawford counties.
What he's saying: "The project area is treasured by Hoosiers and recreationists alike," Braun said in his letter. "Its forests are a favorite destination for horseback riders, hikers, mushroom foragers, hunters and campers."
- Braun also said he's concerned about the impact on Patoka Lake, which supplies drinking water to roughly 100,000 Hoosiers.
Between the lines: Braun is also from the area. Dubois County, where he lives, borders the project area to the west.
The intrigue: While generally in lockstep with the Trump administration and GOP, Braun's position potentially pits him against President Trump on this issue.
- While Braun painted the Buffalo Springs project as part of the Biden administration, Trump signed executive orders to increase lumber production across national forests and other public lands in the U.S over the weekend.
This isn't the first time Braun has broken ranks. Less than two months into his first term, he has threatened to veto the property tax bill Republican lawmakers introduced on his behalf but amended in a way that Braun says won't do enough to help homeowners.
- He also tapped his wife, Maureen Braun, to find a philanthropic partner to fund the Dolly Parton Imagination Library.
- The book distribution program, which was introduced in Indiana by Gov. Eric Holcomb, hasn't been funded in the current state budget proposals.
The bottom line: While Braun is beginning the third decade of Republican rule in Indiana, it's clear that this is going to be a different kind of administration.